The St. Ann Choir

The St. Ann Choir The St. Ann Choir sings Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony every week in Palo Alto, CA. at St. Ann Chapel, Melville at Tasso in Palo Alto, California.

In addition to the complete year's cycle of Gregorian chant for Sunday Mass, the choir also performs medieval and Renaissance motets and polyphonic Mass settings for holy days and other feast days. Please join us Sunday for Mass at 12 noon - and holy days as announced - at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Waverly at Homer in Palo Alto, California, and for Latin Vespers in Gregorian chant at 6:15 p.m. Al

l events are Catholic services. Everyone is welcome. No cost, of course. Ann Choir is not affiliated with the St. Ann Chapel Choir, the professional group that performs music for the 11 AM Anglican Sunday liturgy at The St. Ann Chapel.

07/26/2026

The St. Ann Choir will sing the Mass of St. Ann's feast today at 11 am by special permission—at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Palo Alto. I suspect they will also sing this hymn to her.

Celebrate the St. Ann Choir's Patronal Feast, Sunday, 11 AM, July 26, 2026 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Palo Alto, CA
07/22/2026

Celebrate the St. Ann Choir's Patronal Feast, Sunday, 11 AM, July 26, 2026 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Palo Alto, CA

This coming Sunday July 26 is the feast of the St. Ann Choir's patron saint. The choir have received special permission ...
07/22/2026

This coming Sunday July 26 is the feast of the St. Ann Choir's patron saint. The choir have received special permission to sing the Mass in her honor instead of the propers of the Mass for the Sunday. 11 AM is the time of the Sunday Mass at which the St. Ann Choir sings.

These beautiful chant pages for the feast of St. Ann were illuminated by the late Susan Altstatt, who sang with the choir since the middle 60s. Her Requiem Mass will be sung at 3 PM on this coming Saturday. Details in a separate announcement.

All corrections to earlier post: On Palm Sunday, the St. Ann Choir of Palo Alto will sing St. Matthew's Passion. Also, f...
03/24/2026

All corrections to earlier post: On Palm Sunday, the St. Ann Choir of Palo Alto will sing St. Matthew's Passion. Also, foot washing will not be done this year on Holy Thursday.

Schedule for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter 2026.

If you want to be added to the St. Ann Choir notifications list, please DM with your email address.

Palm Sunday Mass, March 29
11:00 AM, St. Thomas Aquinas Church
Procession with Palms and Sung Mass, including the chanting of the St. Matthew Passion and motets by Morales, Tallis and Victoria.

Wednesday, Tenebrae, April 1
8:00 PM, St. Ann Chapel
Matins and Lauds of Holy Thursday
(Anticipated the evening before). Lamentations of Jeremiah by Victoria.

Holy Thursday Mass, April 2
8:00 PM, St. Thomas Aquinas Church
Mass of the Lord's Supper, and Blessed Sacrament Procession. Gregorian chant and polyphonic music of Byrd, Morales, La Rue, and Victoria.

Good Friday Liturgy, April 3
5:30 PM, St. Thomas Aquinas Church
Solemn afternoon liturgy: Chanting of the St. John Passion, Solemn Intercessions, Adoration of the Cross, and Communion. Latin Gregorian chant and polyphonic music of Victoria.

Easter Vigil Mass, April 4
10:00 PM, St. Thomas Aquinas Church
The Solemn Proclamation of Easter, the Prophecies, and Midnight Mass of the Resurrection. Music of Palestrina, Morales, and Marenzio.

St. Ann Choir of Palo Alto sings at the Ash Wednesday Mass at 7:30 PM at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.
02/17/2026

St. Ann Choir of Palo Alto sings at the Ash Wednesday Mass at 7:30 PM at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

Dr. Erick Arenas, Director of the St. Ann Choir of Palo Alto since Prof. William Mahrt's death last January, will lead a...
01/16/2026

Dr. Erick Arenas, Director of the St. Ann Choir of Palo Alto since Prof. William Mahrt's death last January, will lead a three-session series of classes on the development of music for the Requiem Mass. Register soon!
Live via Zoom.
Mondays, Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 9 – 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., Pacific Time
This series is part of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's Spring Workshop Series.

"Musical settings of the Mass for the Dead represent one of the most poignant genres in the choral literature. It is also one of very few major types of composition whose practice spans every age of Western music history, and whose formal and stylistic scales range from the austere to the grandiloquent. While its origins and musical elements are rooted in liturgical function, its development has also been shaped by secular notions of ceremony and musical expression, in particular the requisites of the concert hall. This series will survey the diverse, complex repertoire that this history has yielded. Representative examples from the Medieval era to the twentieth century will be studied in terms of style, form and aesthetics, as well as historical and historiographical contexts."

Read more about the other courses in the series and register for any or all of the offerings here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.regfox.com/spring-2026-online-monday-workshop-series

Dr. Arenas teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. You might want to check out his page at their site: https://www.sfcm.edu/study/faculty/erick-arenas

You might be interested in the article "With Love and Sacred Beauty: Remembering Bill Mahrt" that starts on page 26 of t...
12/12/2025

You might be interested in the article "With Love and Sacred Beauty: Remembering Bill Mahrt" that starts on page 26 of the Fall 2025 issue of The Valley Catholic, a publication of the Diocese of San Jose. It's about Stanford Professor of Musicology William Mahrt, who was president of the Church Music Association of America, editor of the Sacred Music Journal, and Director of the St. Ann Choir.

Address

St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 751 Waverley Street
Palo Alto, CA
94301

Opening Hours

11am - 12:30am

Telephone

+16504937933

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The St. Ann Choir posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category